BRITISH AIRWAYS BEA RETRO LIVERY A319 RETURNS TO SERVICE! G-EUPJ. First Euro flight. 13 June 2024.

[@aviationcinematics2024]

Now this is a return that I have been waiting for a long time! I remember hearing about G-EUPJ retiring in 2022? And sure enough after 2 years it looked solid that she'll never operate for BA again, but I'm glad I still had the glimmer of hope that she'd return! Can't wait to catch her at Heathrow sooner or later!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@aviationcinematics2024 Hi Alan - yes against all odds she came back from the brink!! Hope you catch her soon! All the best Steve

[@aviationin4k258]

So good to see her back!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@aviationin4k258 It really is isn’t it. Takes me back to the “good days” before covid etc !

[@rsambrook]

It is good to see her back. I flew her to Madrid (as captain) from Heathrow gate 522 in November 2022. I took a picture of her at LHR, then another from the window while in the departure lounge at Madrid on a remote stand. The really thought that would be her last flight. I have since moved onto the A350 😊

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@rsambrook Hi Hywel; yes I think we all thought that was the end for this one! Quite a milestone that you flew the last flight before storage! Congrats on moving to the A350 fleet! All the best Steve

[@user-jg2nq6ll4c]

Happy memories ........ flew on a lot of Viscounts, Vanguards and Tridents, Aberdeen to London route many times sporting this livery back in the 60s and 70s!!!!!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@user-jg2nq6114c Great memories. It summed up all that was good about the British aircraft fleet of the time didn’t it? Do you have any photos from those days?

[@vc10aviation]

Great Catch , Nice to G-EUPJ back in service

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@vc10aviation thanks a lot! Good to see it isn’t it?! 👏

[@johngraver2828]

The livery suits it so well, reminds me of my trips to The Queen's Building to see Viscounts and Vanguards . . . . . .would love to see it on a A321-NEO ?

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@johngraver2828 Yes it brings back good memories doesn’t it? A great livery - but the lifespan of this aircraft can’t be that much longer - it’s 24 years old. A lot of the G-EUP series A319s have already been scrapped. Wish they’d chosen a new model to paint in this livery instead, 4 years ago; as you say like one of the NEOs…..

[@chriscrook4481]

The Aer Lingus retro scheme on their A320 also looks gorgeous.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@chriscrook4481 yes it does I really like that one too.

[@castlegate2015]

Be nice of BA had a full range of retro liveries on their fleet.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@castlegate2015 wouldn’t it just…Good call!

[@brianrjclarke]

So good to see this little beauty flying again. If it wasn't for all the Airbus delivery delays she would be scrap so we are blessed to see her again. Flew on her many times in her younger days.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@brianrjclarke Hi Brian - that’s really interesting re the Airbus delivery delays-and explains totally why they’ve brought a 24 year old frame out from storage. But it’s our gain isn’t it - lovely to see that livery again!!

[@elaineblackhurst1509]

It is good to see it again, though I don’t think it’s quite as stylish as the old Alitalia livery.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@elaineblackhurst1509 Hi Elaine - good point - the Italian sense of style and panache may just have the edge!

[@groovydonkey]

Seeing the BEA logo, really takes be back to my childhood and great to see it flying the skies again.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@groovydonkey Me too. Really takes me back to childhood spotting days….

[@PLANEMANIA747]

Nice capturing 😍

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@PLANEMANIA747 Hi thanks a lot! I enjoyed going back to Heathrow

[@lukekelly359]

I flew in this to Geneva a few weeks back. I didn't realise what a rarity it was! I thought it looked cool though. 🙂

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@lukekelly359 Hi Luke yes you’ve travelled on a piece of history! BA brought out 4 “retro” liveried aircraft in 2019 - 3 x 747s which were all retired just over a year later due to the pandemic - and the BEA retro that you’ve travelled on. It was stored for the last 18 months or so - we all thought it was for the scrap - but not yet clearly!! 👏

[@t.p.mckenna]

My dad was a frequent flyer between London and Dublin in the 60s, so the sight of the BEA livery always excites me.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@t.p.mckenna I know what you mean. I felt the same with the BOAC livery - reminded me of childhood days at LHR watching the 707s, VC10s of BOAC taking off. Good memories as I’m sure the BEA livery is for you!

[@BigPaul62]

Good to see her in use. Maybe she should be preserved somewhere that cares to make up for the crime that befell upon the BOAC liveried 747.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@BigPaul62 absolutely yes. With hindsight it was never a good fit to send a fully functioning 747 to a breakers yard was it 😱 we should have seen it coming …..

[@ahyanremtulla]

Hi Steve, hope you're well! Nice to see 'Papa Juliet' back!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@ahyanremtulla Hi Ahyan - sorry I didn't see your comment - it didn't come up on my iPhone for some reason. All good with me - hope you are too? I visited the Farnborough Airshow last month - got lots of footage which is on my other channel - great to see the big jets there like the lovely Air India A350 and the Qatar 787 - plus a short visit by BA with one of their newest A320 Neos,. Hope all good with you? All the best Steve

[@ahyanremtulla]

@@HeathrowAircraft Hi Steve, I'm doing well thanks. Not to worry, good to to hear that you're doing well too! It was great to see some of your footage from Farnborough especially the Virgin A330 with the 40 years sticker! By the way, how do you find the new Air India livery in the flesh? Talk to you soon!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@ahyanremtulla hi Ahyan - thanks a lot. Yes the Air India livery (and A350) look absolutely fabulous.

[@ahyanremtulla]

@@HeathrowAircraft Hi Steve, sorry for the late reply. That is great to know however the livery is still not as good as the previous one in my eyes! Take care!!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@@ahyanremtullayou too Ahyan! 👍✈️

[@alzyerpal-TV]

Was the paint refreshed in Madrid too ? It looks very good for an aircraft baking in the hot Spanish sunshine this past year or so.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@alzyerpal-TV I think you must be right- I saw an aerial photo of it from its time in that heat and it looked decidedly scorched and grubby. Looking good now - just hope we can enjoy it for a little while before, like a lot of the G-EUP series a319s already; it is sent to the breakers at St Athan!

[@user-jwhf]

It would be so nice to see some BA planes back in BOAC colours

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@user-nx7qq4qgb Yes I agree. Or The Landor would look good on a 777 or Airbus A320 too!

[@krishanprasad20]

I managed to snap a picture of her taking off yesterday I was stunned to see her back, thought I saw a ghost

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@krishnanprasad20 Good call! Yes it was a bolt out of the blue wasn’t it!!

[@krishanprasad20]

@@HeathrowAircraft I dropped my phone trying to catch it as it took off 😂

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@krishanprasad20 😂😂 I’m not surprised- I would have done that as well. Or it would be at the bottom of my rucksack so I’d miss it altogether 😰

[@paulfernando1887]

BA should paint one of their B787 in the old BOAC speedbird colour scheme.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@paulfernando1887 that would look great. And a 777 back in Landor like the first era 777s were!

[@paulfernando1887]

@@HeathrowAircraftabsolutely 😊

[@alzyerpal-TV]

Every airline shoukd have a retro kicking about its fleet. 😊

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@alzyerpal-TV yes definitely! 👍

[@mickboakes7023]

Brilliant. Be nice to see a 777 in B.O.A.C livery as they did on 747 before they were scrapped

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@mickboakes7023 Hi Mick that would be something to see wouldn’t it?! I’d be quite happy even for just a 777 in Landor; as they first flew in Landor didn’t they…..

[@mickboakes7023]

@@HeathrowAircraft I think that every airline should have at least one aircraft in their fleet in retro colours. Trouble is I’m old enough to remember them when they were current. All the best. Mick

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@mickboakes7023 Yes me too Mick 😂 Best wishes steve

[@colinboneham7387]

BA shouldn’t have removed the other retro imo, but great to see this one back where it should be.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@colinboneham7387 absolutely yes!! 🙌

[@krishanprasad20]

I think they should repaint some of the A319 in the retro liveries to complete it

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@@krishanprasad20Yes - they’ve got the One World livery on some A320s; plus the G-TTNA in that weird blue livery (not keen on that one myself!) but they would look good with a Landor scheme -like the first generation of A320s were in (G-BUSA/B/C etc.)

[@SJF15]

They should use the Landor livery on the A380.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@Avgeek1564 That would look amazing!

[@minitrundle]

They should bring the Negus, Landor and BOAC liveries back but on the 777's or A350's

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@minitrundle. Yes definitely - I agree!

[@chrisst8922]

It should have had red wings but I read that would have reduced the wing's ability to keep cool.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@chrisst8922 yes there was something Health and Safety about why it couldn’t be red wasn’t there. I forget what now but will try to rack my brains!

[@alzyerpal-TV]

Against current regulations regarding painted wings apparently.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@@alzyerpal-TV ah ok yes I remember something about that!! Thanks for sharing.

[@elberethelflein396]

I thought it looked fab on the runway the other day

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@elberethelflein396 yes it’s a great livery isn’t it. Love it!

[@verifiedtoxicangel2411]

This is confusing. So which is older, BOAC or BEA ?

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@verifiedtoxicangel2411 They were separate airlines until they were merged in April 1974 into British Airways. (I remember it!! 😱) BOAC was founded in 1939. BEA was formed in 1946!

[@verifiedtoxicangel2411]

@@HeathrowAircraft thanks for the info. So why is BEA brought back if it was already renamed British Airways?

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@@verifiedtoxicangel2411 It was to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of BA and its predecessors. So they brought out 4 aircraft in different historic liveries in 2019 as part of the celebrations. 3 of the 4 were 747s and COVID put paid to all the 747 fleet so they were withdrawn in June 2020. That just left the little BEA Airbus which flew until Nov 2022 and was then put into storage in Spain. We all thought it was destined for the scrap as it’s 24 years old. But they’ve brought it back - hence this film! We should make the most of it as I’m sure it won’t be around for very long. A lot of the G-EUP Airbus series in the BA fleet have already been scrapped…..

[@viktorjoachimmoscoso6327]

shame how g-bygk got scrapped

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@victorjoachimmoscoso6327 Yes - it really is ☹️

[@timfly767]

I wish the BEA Speedjack had been represented. The BEA red square is rather dull.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@timfly767 Hi Tim yes that was a very iconic livery wasn’t it. I remember it well from my childhood spotting days….

[@timfly767]

@@HeathrowAircraft Indeed. I can't believe I was crew for over 40 years. It feels like it all happened to someone else, but they were very very happy days without a doubt.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@@timfly767 I left BA in 1995 but that still seems like yesterday. Good times!

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

No point without the iconic red upper wing surfaces.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 Good point. Those wings did look the part on the original scheme on the tridents, 1-11s, viscounts and vanguards didn’t they!

[@brianwillson9567]

Wow. Im pretending propellers and imagining a vanguard.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@brianwillson9567 now that takes me back!

[@barryvincentredmond3973]

The more planes change the more they stay the same.Looks like an early Boeing 737 in that livery.!.No faster than jets in the BEA era pre 1974.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@barryvincentredmond3973 Actually you’re right now you say it. It does have a 737-100 or 200 look doesn’t it especially around the nose!

[@GRAHAMAUS]

No faster but a hell of a lot quieter and fuel-efficient.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@@GRAHAMAUSvery true!!

[@laszlofyre845]

Cheapskates! Where are the red wing panels then? So close, but no cigar.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@laszlofyre845 🤣 apparently it’s a health and safety thing that it couldn’t have red wings. Don’t know the full detail. 🚬

[@roboftherock]

I know it is my age, but that aircraft is just WRONG! It ought to have had propellors!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@roboftherock 🤣 I do know what you mean. Like you I remember the “true” a/c wearing that livery; like the Vanguard 👏

[@roboftherock]

@@HeathrowAircraft If my memory is not faaulty I only had one flight in a Vanguard, the rest were all Viscounts. That was from Renfrew to Heathrow, so that'll take you back.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@roboftherock That does take me back! My earliest Viscount flight was with Cambrian Airways from Liverpool! Wish I had photos from those days!

[@roboftherock]

@@HeathrowAircraft It might be my bleary old eyes, but there seems to be a bit of a Vanguard nose on the 319. Is that just me? Cambrian - was that when BEA 'regionalised its fleet. I recall Scottish Airways.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@roboftherock yes that nose is quite reminiscent of the Vanguard isn’t it - and to me, the 737-100/200 like in the Lufthansa livery of the 1970s/80s! Yes Cambrian were independent but were merged into BEA in 1972 and disappearing altogether after the BEA/BOAC merger. …

[@MervynPartin]

I like retro schemes, but just don't bring back those horrible "ethnic" tails that BA once had.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@MervynPartin I think they were Marmite weren’t they - love them or hate them. I quite liked them thinking back ….they were certainly an original idea!

[@alzyerpal-TV]

Liked them myself, a bit of variety at our airports and things to look out for on your travels.

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@alzyerpal-TV yes they stood out didn’t they!

[@HeathrowAircraft]

@alzyerpal-TV Yes - and trying to spot the rarer ones was always a challenge!